1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an integrated combination of a wristwatch with multi-purpose tool members to be moved from a stored position to an extended position for use. The wristwatch includes a watch for identifying time and several multi-purpose tools that may include but are not limited to any select combination of the following items: a knife, a pair of scissors, a variety of screwdrivers, and a bottle opener, among other items. The integrated combination of a wristwatch with multi-purpose tool members thereby allows an individual to carry multiple tool members on the individual's person for everyday use, if desired, in a convenient, simple, clean, safe, inconspicuous, and compact storage manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention is particularly applicable to the multi-purpose folding tool industry, and to one who typically wears a wristwatch or also carries a multi-purpose folding tool, and will be described further with particular reference thereto.
The continuing concern among those in the multi-purpose folding tool industry and among consumers who wear wristwatches and carry multi-purpose folding tools is that a conventional wristwatch only provides utility as a timepiece or ornamental bracelet and a multi-purpose folding tool is a heavily weighted and bulky accessory of a multitude of sizes and configurations. In addition, a multi-purpose tool is often carried separate and apart from an individual's physical person, such as in a carry bag or a pocket of an article of clothing, or the tool may also be placed as an attachment on the individual's belt buckle or strap. Thus, there is ever growing concern to look for an invention that incorporates a conventional wristwatch and multi-tool member survival kit in a compact and convenient form such that an individual may carry a compact survival kit as a worn wristwatch for everyday use, select activities, or unexpected tasks.
A quick survey of the prior art in this area reveals that it is replete with myriad and diverse wrist housings for tools and multi-purpose folding tools. The folding tools allow a user to carry several tools in a housed manner. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,447,118; 6,781,921; 5,160,134; 5,838,639; 6,098,497; and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/357,673.
Various types of watches or foldable tools are traditionally available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and configurations. It is known that watches typically have a dial or face for displaying time and a housing having a cavity or area formed behind the dial or face in order to house the mechanisms of the watch. Many previously available hand tools provide for use of a single hand to drive tool bits of several different sizes and configurations. Previously available survival tool kits or tool bit holders with accompanying bits have required more space to be held or carried by the individual, and so it is desired to utilize tool kits in a more compact folding tool. Most, if not all, of these folding tools are limited in their size and shape and do not provide for a clean, convenient, safe, inconspicuous, or compact storage of multi-member tools on the body of the individual carrying the tool.
In some instances, certain watch cases contain a separate compartment to hold or conceal objects such as money, tokens, reflective surfaces, scissors, pocket knives, and compasses, which are traditionally carried separately by an individual. As such, a wide variety of dimensions of compartments and devices have developed over the years to provide a solution that allows other objects to be carried together with a conventional watch. These traditional multi-purpose devices typically include single function or single purpose objects or, in any event, a very limited number thereof. Therefore, a conventional wristwatch does not have the capacity or functionality to handle more than a single or very limited number of functions or purposed tools.
None of these solutions have addressed or resolved the problems faced by an individual with an affinity for the outdoors. An outdoors person, who may participate in fishing, hunting, hiking, and the like, would typically have a need for a contained housing, storing compact or pocket folding multi-purpose tools. Such tools are often separate and apart from any other gear that the individual may have or may be wearing on the individual's body such as the individual's conventional wristwatch that the majority of individuals wear on a regular basis. Because tool members are a separately carried item, the individual is required to remember to carry along multi-member tools or a pocket folding survival kit in addition to the multitude of other items that may be needed and required on a trip, outing, or activity.
Remembering to carry the various multi-member tools or pocket folding survival kit for an outing can be quite cumbersome and also opens up the possibility that a vital survival tool for the outing may be forgotten, misplaced, or become separated from the individual while the outing is underway.
The goal of any pocket folding tool member is to promote the convenience of a multi-tool survival kit in a clean, convenient, safe, inconspicuous, compact, and aesthetically pleasing configuration that may be carried and used by an individual during the course of the individual's normal activities. Moreover, a further goal of these products is to facilitate the functionality of survival tool kits and tool members having movable configurations positioned in stored and extended positions for tool use while an individual is engaged in activities experienced in the regular course of daily life, outdoor activities, and other events.
Conventional folding tools and survival kits suffer from a number of drawbacks in addressing the problem of convenient storage, wearing, carrying and handling of an effect on an individual's body in a sizable and compact fashion. One such drawback is that conventional survival kits and folding tools generally contain a plurality of tool members, thus making the entirety of the folding tools and survival kit both bulky and cumbersome. Therefore, in such a fashion, the individual would generally pick up and carry this survival tool or kit only to take it along on the desired outdoor activity, and the individual would not carry the item for everyday living and use if desired. The individual would keep the survival tools in a separate bag or pocket compartment, as these items are not regularly worn or carried on the body of the individual. Thus, the bulky and cumbersome size of the tools or kit would prevent the outdoors person from keeping the tool or kit on the individual's person at all times and decreasing the convenience of having a tool for unexpected tasks, events in everyday living, or in the event that a conventional tool kit becomes separated from the individual.
Therefore, the use of conventional, multi-tool member folding tools is not conducive for situations requiring coverage for extended periods of time or if the outdoors person is limited in the number of contents being carried or handled by the individual. Thus, these traditional folding tools and survival kits do not alleviate the problems typically encountered with ordinary use of these items. Despite the existence of many types of watches, foldable tools, and survival kits, individuals continue to experience inconvenience in remembering, carrying and transporting multi-member survival tools and kits.
Accordingly, a need exists for a new and improved multi-purpose tool watch having multiple tool members that may be moved from a stored position to an extended position for use. In addition, a need also exists for a multi-purpose tool watch that provides compact, convenient, clean, safe, inconspicuous, and easy storage in terms of allowing an individual to comfortably wear the watch on the individual's wrist and conveniently being able to access and use multiple tools upon necessity. It is a general object and desire of the present invention to provide such a multi-purpose tool watch having multiple tools and configurations so that the tools are stored and then can be extended for use. It is also the object of the present invention to enable multi-member tools to be easily remembered, carried, transported, and so that the tools remain attached to an individual's person while on an outdoor outing, during a select activity, encountering an unexpected task, or in everyday living. Such an apparatus provides versatility and addresses the shortcomings discussed earlier, and thus is highly desirable.
More specifically, there exists a need to combine such tools with another item that is regularly worn and easily transported on the body of the individual, not a tool that is carried separate and apart from the individual's person. Even further, there is a need for the arrangement of the apparatus to enable ease of use, convenience to carry, and flexibility to the individual. Further still, there is a need to provide multi-member tools in an aesthetically pleasing packaging for the individual end user. Such a packaging should be inconspicuous in appearance and require minimal effort and thought for use and transport by the individual end user. In addition, the object of the present invention is also to include previously available tool features but be able to provide them in a safer, and more comfortable manner, thereby providing more versatile ability of the tool members than previously available tools of comparable sizes.